The Most Trusted Name In News

I can't figure out how I can possibly have less respect for CNN as a news organization. It's like I've reached some sort of Kelvin scale absolute zero point at which it is simply not possible to get any lower.

For the past 18 months, CNN's main objective has been to destroy Donald Trump. I realized this back in September when I went to CNN's main page, which I rarely do, and saw 6 features about Trump or his candidacy, and every one of them was negative, and highly critical. Every. Single. One. That's when I knew that there was something weird going on.

And really, once you understand this, their news coverage makes sense. "Trump's presidency must die" is the CNN party line. And it's so blatant I have trouble believing that the CNN bigwigs don't have a daily staff meeting where they consciously work out the details for maximizing their anti-Trump message. Did not one of their own employees, in the heat of the recent election season, actually claim that Trump was so awful that the abandonment of any and all journalistic standards was justified to in order to destroy him?

This seems to be CNN's new modus operandi. So their anchors and newsreaders say negative and critical things about him whenever they can.

--As do their in-house political pundits.

--And their guest political commentators.

--And whoever else they give airtime to.

Whenever some random guest is on, the CNN interviewer will try to get him to say critical and negative things about Trump.

"I think Trump is a bad president. Do you think Trump is a bad president? Here's a video clip that shows what a bad president he is."

And they expect the guest to say, "Yes, I think Trump is a bad president".

"Oh good, we're all agreed, then, that Trump is a bad president."

That's how CNN infobabe Brooke Baldwin thought it was supposed to work. Her guest was a Syrian victim of a 2013 gas attack. Plus, she had a video of Hillary teed up and ready to go to emphasize the anti-Trump talking point. So what could possibly go wrong?

Moral: Never ask your guest a question unless you know exactly how he's going to answer.

---------------
And now for something completely different:

Here is a teaser trailer for the upcoming Thor movie. It doesn't look like a movie I'm going to be rushing right out to see, but I think the trailer is worth watching just for the awesome music selection they used to accompany it:

9I can't figure out how I can possibly have less respect for CNN as a news organization. It's like I've reached some sort of Kelvin scale absolute zero point at which it is simply not possible to get any lower.

I kind of can't wait to see what happens because you know the Universe is all Challenge Accepted.

Also wait isn't it today that Julian Assange said he was going to dump stuff about CNN? Because, you know, that would be just perfectly awesome.

21
As the resident movie guy (I guess?), I just can't get excited about most new movies, especially super hero movies.

I'm glad that studios are FINALLY doing different things with them (Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier being two good examples), but there's just too many of them.

I had this complaint when Rogue One was announced. When I was a kid, there were 3 Star Wars movies. There was a universe of extra stuff, but the movies were special. Then, the prequels were announced. We were going to get 3 more movies, and each was an event (never mind the quality of the films themselves). The release of each felt unique. I remember sitting in the theater for Episode III thinking, "I'll never see another Star Wars movie in theaters again."

Now, here we are more than a decade later, and we're going to get a Star Wars movie a year until the end of time. It doesn't feel special anymore. It just feels like another franchise.

23
You KNOW that Hulk has to throw Thor around, and the say 'Puny Godling'...

Its almost mandatory at this point...

Posted by: Don Q. at April 11, 2017 11:31 AM (NgKpN)

24
Kassem Eid clearly does not have The Correct Politics. His name will be placed on the list of those Syrians unwelcome in the U.S after the Democratic Restoration. For her part, Brooke Baldwin must be punished for allowing this impertinent brown person to speak, unsupervised, at length.

He said this? OK. Whatever he does, I hope it's better than what James O'Keefe did a couple of months ago, after a big build-up about getting all sorts of inside dope on CNN, it turned out to be a big nothingburger.

28
17 Counterpoint: I will be rushing out to see Thor 3 opening weekend.

Marvel MCU movies are the only movies I see in theaters anymore, and a lot of that is because of the big crowd that comes with. They've turned their movies into events.
Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 11:30 AM (72PAC)

30
Yeah, been waiting for Immigrant Song to make it's way into the Marvel universe. I'm glad they shelled out the money for the original and not some lame cover version.

Also, for you semi-comicgeeks, it looks like they're using the plot of Planet Hulk, only with Thor in the Hulk role and Hulk in the...Silver Surfer role. I know, very inside baseball, but if you get the time and have the inclination, the Planet Hulk graphic novel is actually pretty good. And I say that as a non-Hulk fan.

Also CNN sucks and is literally Hitler.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 11, 2017 11:32 AM (zsHGH)

31
In Trumps America, Asian doctors on their way to save lives can be dragged off planes and beaten.

You know this narrative is coming.

Posted by: Ripley at April 11, 2017 11:33 AM (1BQGO)

32
Now, here we are more than a decade later, and we're going to get a Star Wars movie a year until the end of time. It doesn't feel special anymore. It just feels like another franchise.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:31 AM (ELUpj)

It is just another franchise...

but with Disney Princess's!

/spit

Posted by: Don Q. at April 11, 2017 11:33 AM (NgKpN)

33ot, from New Scientist: 13000 year old teeth found in Italy have evidence of dentistry, specifically fillings. because stone age, the drilling was done with stone and the filling is bitumen.

39
It took me a second to recognize Cate Blachet when I first watched it. Is that CGI at work? She looks... good as a brunette. (And that should tell everyone all they need to know about my taste in women.)

Aaaaand Fox hired Howie Kurtz from CNN, who is such an unbearable, unwatchable hack.

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 11:36 AM (NOIQH)

50
In Trumps America, Asian doctors on their way to save lives can be dragged off planes and beaten.

You know this narrative is coming.
Posted by: Ripley at April 11, 2017 11:33 AM (1BQGO)

It's not coming...it's a;ready here. Some on the left are doing exactly that. LMAO

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 11, 2017 11:36 AM (KlI/a)

51
>>35
I'll say this again. There are no good guys in Syria right now. Take out Assad and ISIS or the muzzie brotherhood take over.
Damned if you do something, damned if you don't. Posted by: Soona at April 11, 2017 11:33 AM (Fmupd)

Michael Herr, author of "Dispatches," has an Air Force pilot giving his recommendation for the Vietnam War (paraphrased): "We kill everything, then we take a male and a female chimp up in a C-130, with parachutes. We kick them out, and tell them, 'this time, don't fuck it up.'"

Middle East solved. Next problem.

Posted by: General Zod at April 11, 2017 11:37 AM (Bdeb0)

52
About that Thor trailer, I would just like to point out that Thor's Hammer - Mjolnir - CANNOT be broken.

53
Yet another CEO with the Trumpeter. Where the beck are my tax breaks and border wall?

Posted by: Under Fire at April 11, 2017 11:37 AM (57R5r)

54
We're on the road to becoming Chechnya and we're going to start executing gays. Because Trump!

Posted by: Joss Whedon at April 11, 2017 11:37 AM (FqgrG)

55
I didn't see any Natalie Portman in that trailer. That's an improvement.

(Myself from 15 years ago would be disappointed by that, but things change.)

Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 11, 2017 11:37 AM (S2VsH)

56
Now, here we are more than a decade later, and we're going to get a Star Wars movie a year until the end of time. It doesn't feel special anymore. It just feels like another franchise.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:31 AM (ELUpj)

To borrow TR's quote about reading: I watch movies to be entertained- not necessarily to be part of an 'Event'.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 11, 2017 11:38 AM (+c7tK)

57
52 About that Thor trailer, I would just like to point out that Thor's Hammer - Mjolnir - CANNOT be broken.

69
55 I didn't see any Natalie Portman in that trailer. That's an improvement.

(Myself from 15 years ago would be disappointed by that, but things change.)
Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 11, 2017 11:37 AM (S2VsH)

================

She wanted to drop out of the franchise after her choice for director of the 2nd Thor movie didn't get past preproduction. It was a gender thing since the director was a woman and the job then went to Alan Taylor, one of the main directors of Game of Thrones.

He then went on to shit the bed with Terminator: Genisys (which is just...awful).

His show is on directly opposite Brian Stelter's on CNN.
You can switch back and forth for the best effect.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (IqV8l)

78
old OT- overbooking because passengers make reservations they don't use? My card gets charged when I make the reservation- not when I show up at the boarding gate. So overbooking is theft. IMHO

Posted by: free tibet with purchase of equal or great value tibet at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (U4PcL)

79Well, I was more pissed by Cap not being able to lift the hammer in the Avengers, if we want to get pedantic.

Maybe it's me - I thought Cap could lift it, but he faked not being able to because everyone before him tried and failed. I seem to recall the movie scene had Mjolnir wiggle a bit and only Thor caught it - hence the look they shared.

80
The whole interconnectivity of their movies and how it's all related and
impacts other movies (actual effect of this can be debated) gets people
talking and wanting to see what happens next.***I wonder if this could be a model to make a series of Silmarillion movies?

But not by Peter Jackson, he lost his right after the terrible Hobbit movies.

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (eSx+E)

81
I'll say this again. There are no good guys in Syria right now. Take out Assad and ISIS or the muzzie brotherhood take over.--

There was an interesting article in ZH about a year ago. The gist was that Pentagon created forces are at war with CIA created forces in Syria. This makes as much sense as anything else. The article also links a video from the UK, which basically says that everyone is randomly giving arms to both their friends and enemies.

/run away DJT, run away!!!

Posted by: shibumi at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (FkAXz)

82
Terminator Genysis. I'm not really sure what happened. The Two leads were horribly miscast but then there's the story itself.....

Posted by: Nigel West Dickens at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (FqgrG)

83For her part, Brooke Baldwin must be punished for allowing this impertinent brown person to speak, unsupervised, at length.

Posted by: General Zod at April 11, 2017 11:31 AM (Bdeb0)

It's like they don't teach them how to use the "dump" button or how to switch smoothly to "And now a word from our sponsor, George Soros!"

Posted by: Hrothgar at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (gwPgz)

84
Brooke Baldwin (? whovevz) looks like she was sucking a lemon in that clip.

87
65 I don't mean event as in 'rare,' but rather something people rush to see/talk about.

The whole interconnectivity of their movies and how it's all related and impacts other movies (actual effect of this can be debated) gets people talking and wanting to see what happens next.

Much more so than a one off movie, even if that movie may have sequels down the line.

To maybe illustrate more what I mean, among my family and friends, Game of Thrones has become an event.

I don't even particularly like it and normally wouldn't watch, but get a bunch of fans together in rooms across the island, and I'll tag along just to see their reactions.

I guess I'm trying to say 'event' as in fun far beyond just a movie.
Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 11:38 AM (72PAC)

=================

I guess I can see that.

I was talking to my wife a few years ago that the only way for new creative ideas to seem to break through and become part of the cultural zeitgeist in any kind of permanent way is to be through series.

Harry Potter
Star Wars
Marvel
DC

It doesn't seem like one movie can break through anymore. In order to be talked about for any amount of time after its release, you need it to be a franchise.

Who talks about Avatar anymore? Yeah, we're getting a million sequels (at once), but it seems to have largely been forgotten by the culture in the decade or so since its release.

88
I don't care if the movie sucks... I just want to stare at Thor......

Posted by: It's Me donna at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (O2RFr)

89
I know we all agree that it's a given that the MSM and the Democrats are in cahoots. But CNN really does take it much further than that and it's obvious that they must have been an ACTIVE player in the Clinton campaign as well as the chief recipient of all the leaks that were coming out of the Trump campaign via Obama's surveillance which began when?? Around September.

If there was ANY doubt, Don Lemon Law gave it away when he shit all over the news that Rice was behind it...

Posted by: JoeF. at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (7uYFy)

90
No but seriously, obviously Dinsey is now going to make "live action" versions of all their recent cartoons.

Live action Jungle Book, live action Beauty and the Beast.

So, live action Aladdin, will it be Selena Gomez as Jasmine? Or would it be rayciss not to have a muzzie do it?

Live action Little Mermaid... Ariana Grande?

Live action Pocahontas... hmmm... maybe the iCarly chick.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (TOk1P)

91
I take it that this Thor movie is following the time-honored tradition of the sequel (or 3rd movie or whatever) taking the hero and having him lose his powers and have to work to get it back? I'm out. No offense to you guys who want to see it, but everything about this movie looks silly. If you want to watch it, you do you, but I don't think this one is for me.

94Aaaaand Fox hired Howie Kurtz from CNN, who is such an unbearable, unwatchable hack.

Posted by: Lizzy

His show is on directly opposite Brian Stelter's on CNN.

You can switch back and forth for the best effect.Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (IqV8l)

( *furiously scribbles notes* )

Posted by: The Barrel at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (SzBdI)

95
Ha. I just watched it and, while it looks fun and goofy and Space Thor seems like a good way to tie in to the Star Wars crossover that's bound to be happening, I just saw that the Independence Day / Jurrasic Park "look at me I'm a scientist" guy is in it playing himself yet again.

Posted by: Moron Robbie at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (fD1ST)

96I didn't see any Natalie Portman in that trailer. That's an improvement.***Who knew her acting high water mark would be in The Professional?

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (eSx+E)

97
There never were good solutions in the Middle East, only less bad ones...HOWEVER...Fredo fucked things up so badly that it is damn near hopeless now and that is how I feel on my more optimistic days.

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (KlI/a)

98
Also.. Putin is now claiming the event in Syria was a false flag, and that he has information that says there will be more blamed on him and his nation.

103My theory about the batshit crazy anti-Trump CNN is that they feel that they gave America Trump and now they're trying to quash him to make up to the Left-o-sphere.

I think they featured Trump in their coverage over all the other R candidates. For one, he said outlandish things, making the R's look cray cray, they thought. And No. 2, CNN wanted to make sure Hillary had the least appealing R candidate opposing her, the least likely to get votes.

Of course they're leftists. They're media and by definition . . . My opinion is even most Fox reporters are leftists, but something happens over there to hold them in check a bit (e.g: John Roberts)

Recall early on when CNN was out to destroy Crispy Creme (bridgegate) because they had it in their skull that Krispy was the R candidate that the R voters wanted. (where they got that idea I don't know but I still laugh about it)

Posted by: Sphynx at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (OZmbA)

104
88 I don't care if the movie sucks... I just want to stare at Thor......
Posted by: It's Me donna at April 11, 2017 11:43 AM (O2RFr)
_____________________________

You diggin' on that chained-up bondage scene, or the one whether the chick grabs his hammer and squeezes it?

Posted by: Adirondack Patriot at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (4AVeu)

10574 y'all can hate on the Thor trailer all you want, but if I could buy my ticket now I would. :-P
Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Assault Hobbit & Vaginassassin, aka Beth at April 11, 2017 11:40 AM (4df7R)

Just remember ... your ticket is not a contract. Think of it as more of a "license" to sit in their seat while they play their movie. That's just badic adhesion contract 101.

108Maybe it's me - I thought Cap could lift it, but he faked not being able to because everyone before him tried and failed. I seem to recall the movie scene had Mjolnir wiggle a bit and only Thor caught it - hence the look they shared.

I thought they did that to make Vision being able to casually lift it later in the film more impacting. Still, Cap can lift the Hammer. It is kind of intrinsic to the character- he lives his ideals. It was a misstep in characterization for a payoff that no one cared about.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 11, 2017 11:45 AM (+c7tK)

109
>>Terminator Genysis. I'm not really sure what happened. The Two leads
were horribly miscast but then there's the story itself.....

Ugh. That movie. John Connor is now the bad guy? Pass!

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 11:45 AM (NOIQH)

110
Also.. Putin is now claiming the event in Syria was a false flag, and that he has information that says there will be more blamed on him and his nation.
Posted by: shibumi at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (FkAXz)

Yeah he is coordinating that with the Dems...quick call the FBI

Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 11, 2017 11:45 AM (KlI/a)

111
98 Also.. Putin is now claiming the event in Syria was a false flag, and that he has information that says there will be more blamed on him and his nation.
Posted by: shibumi at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (FkAXz)

Been listening to CNN I see...

Posted by: It's Me donna at April 11, 2017 11:45 AM (O2RFr)

112
81, ZeroHedge actually MIGHT be with the Russians considering their "news." And the comments are written by a bunch of Nazis.

Why Trump and Spicer didn't follow my advice and yank every press pass from day 1 is beyond me. What, you think brooming the bastards out of the White House is going to make them write bad things about you?

The right is never going to get over its Stockholm Syndrome with the MFM.

117
>>83
For her part, Brooke Baldwin must be punished for allowing this impertinent brown person to speak, unsupervised, at length.
Posted by: General Zod at April 11, 2017 11:31 AM (Bdeb0)

It's like they don't teach them how to use the "dump" button or how
to switch smoothly to "And now a word from our sponsor, George Soros!" Posted by: Hrothgar at April 11, 2017 11:41 AM (gwPgz)

She was probably waiting for him to say something uninformed or demonstrably incorrect so that she could straighten him with The Narrative. Omniscient liberals often position ignorant brown people as props for this kind of demonstration. She simply waited too long to set the hook.

Posted by: General Zod at April 11, 2017 11:46 AM (Bdeb0)

118
Live action Little Mermaid... Ariana Grande___Ariel, what are you doing with those donuts?

Posted by: Prince Eric at April 11, 2017 11:46 AM (eSx+E)

119
>> No but seriously, obviously Dinsey is now going to make "live action" versions of all their recent cartoons.

131
Was waiting to get seen by the doc this weekend, and CNN was on in the waiting area.

No one was watching.

Made me smile.

Posted by: SMFH at April 11, 2017 11:48 AM (sB1y1)

132
Also.. Putin is now claiming the event in Syria was a false flag, and that he has information that says there will be more blamed on him and his nation. Posted by: shibumi at April 11, 2017 11:44 AM (FkAXz)

Yeah he is coordinating that with the Dems...quick call the FBI Posted by: Nevergiveup at April 11, 2017 11:45 AM--

Seems to me that Hillary wanted a war. And McCain certainly does.

Hell, it seems that EVERYONE wants a war with Russia in the middle east right now.

Posted by: shibumi at April 11, 2017 11:48 AM (FkAXz)

133I thought they did that to make Vision being able to casually lift it later in the film more impacting. Still, Cap can lift the Hammer. It is kind of intrinsic to the character- he lives his ideals. It was a misstep in characterization for a payoff that no one cared about.

Good point - and I agree that Age of Ultron was committing these kinds of missteps. There was a similar misstep in not having the Hank Pym background/involvement established. In the movie it just came off as contrived.

134
It doesn't seem like one movie can break through anymore. In order to be talked about for any amount of time after its release, you need it to be a franchise.

Who talks about Avatar anymore? Yeah, we're getting a million sequels (at once), but it seems to have largely been forgotten by the culture in the decade or so since its release.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:42 AM (ELUpj)

Yeah it is a major problem in the industry.

I think?

I feel like growing up in the 90s there were a lot more solo movies that had huge impacts. They later got sequels but the impact was made.

I don't think that really happens anymore, but admittedly my view on recent Hollywood outside of Marvel and other Disney is nearly nonexistent.

Could just be the quality and caring factor in Hollywood has gone out the window as well.

"There are several solutions to the problem of the Middle East; however, that should not be interpreted to mean there are any "good" solutions or that you will like or approve of any of them!"

A paraphrase from a very smart man I used to consult with on a regular basis.

Posted by: Hrothgar at April 11, 2017 11:49 AM (gwPgz)

139
But I was just talking about cultural consciousness. Avatar seems to have fallen off.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:48 AM (ELUpj)

Avatar is one of those movies that after a while, people realized that all they liked about it was the visual spectacle. Most people recognize that it wasn't that good of a movie and the effects were just gorgeous for the time.

152
At the skateboard park I take my kids the other day I saw some hipster with huge, drooping loop earlobes. I've seen the lobe rings and all but this was a new level of bizarre. I'm sure at least 3" diameter rings, maybe bigger , would have been needed to fill out those blobs of flesh. It looked like two soggy onion rings flopping around. No, worse more like some weird tumor. How does one even get to that level of deformity?

Posted by: Ripley at April 11, 2017 11:52 AM (1BQGO)

153
The problem for me with more Marvel universe movies is that inter-connection. I don't go see every one of them because - budget.

One reason I never bought Marvel super hero comics or the DC ones - both have story lines weaving through five, six, no wait seven different titles in a month and I have better things to spend my money on.

Another reason was simple, the rabid fandom of those who did buy all those titles. That was all they ever talked about. Ever. Talk about an impetus to create a singularity to consume all of Humanity, those fans caused such an urge.

154No, never happen. I think they buried the original in the deepest part in the most secure film vault.

That would be right next to Walt Disney's frozen head.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at April 11, 2017 11:53 AM (JZdsf)

155
103--good points. I also think Saturday Night Live is going overboard with the Trump hate because THEY actually had him host the show , giving him lots of exposure and "normalization."

You are also spot on about the nothingburger known as "Bridgegate" which erupted here in NJ right about the time polls showed that Christie might have a shot against Hillary. Seems laughable now, but it's true.

Posted by: JoeF. at April 11, 2017 11:53 AM (7uYFy)

156
Look Hayden, I don't really care what you say. Just talk about sand or something. Well just CGI some awesome stuff around you and No one will notice.

***The solution to most hollywood movies is that the hero just ultimately doubles down on whatever his base strength is to beat the villain.

Heck watch a Power Rangers episode (if you unfortunately have a nephew into the show)...it is every single episode.

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:53 AM (eSx+E)

158
The one movie that I can point to and say,"I really, really hate CGI." was Matrix Reloaded.

I saw the future and decided to buy more books.

Posted by: Skunky Choom at April 11, 2017 11:53 AM (AeTx0)

159
Ducking in for a minute from work: I saw a story on the Bing news headlines about some commission having to do with forensic science, and it seems our new Attorney General is getting rid of it. I read the story at the Washington Examiner which said he is establishing a different method of oversight to encourage more use of forensic science - it's been 10 minutes and I forget the details - and so then, in a masochistic moment, I read the story linked to Salon in which the solons at Salon said that Jeff Sessions was destroying science!!!11!!11.

If you read the articles even a little bit closely, you would find that this commission included some scientist-types, but it also included police and attorneys. Not so much "all about science" after all, n'est pas?

164
It was their live feed.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at April 11, 2017 11:38 AM (SzBdI)
--------

Oh, I do realize that, but those technical difficulties arise from time to time, you know?

Posted by: bluebell at April 11, 2017 11:54 AM (sBOL1)

165
139 But I was just talking about cultural consciousness. Avatar seems to have fallen off.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:48 AM (ELUpj)

Avatar is one of those movies that after a while, people realized that all they liked about it was the visual spectacle. Most people recognize that it wasn't that good of a movie and the effects were just gorgeous for the time.
Posted by: joe, living dangerously at April 11, 2017 11:49 AM (KUaJL)

===============

I remember saying that pretty much when I walked out of the theater.

"Yeah, the special effects are amazing, but in 20 years, when SyFy can do that level of effect, what's going to be left of Avatar? Dances with Wolves...in SPACE!!!!"

Also, Jasmine would have to wear a burka and Jafar would have to be an orange haired European....

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:55 AM (eSx+E)

167
The Marvel movies are about the only ones I get excited about anymore. I expect there to be stumbles, but Marvel knows how to make a movie.

Oh and I watched Magnus last night. It was ok, a little slight but there's only so much you can say about a teenaged chess prodigy, I guess. Magnus also looked oddly like my brother Brian when he was young.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 11, 2017 11:55 AM (zsHGH)

168
Brooke Baldwin (? whovevz) looks like she was sucking a lemon in that clip.

171
142 They hate everything he's done with both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
***
They thought LotR was pretty good. Jackson cut out some content, but he had to if he wanted no more then 3 movies.

OTOH, adding content to The Hobbit just showed no one involved was as good of a writer as Tolkien....
Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:50 AM (eSx+E)

==================

Unless you've seen something I haven't, I'm pretty sure that Chris Tolkien has said that he hated The Lord of the Rings movies too.

174
No but seriously, obviously Dinsey is now going to make "live action" versions of all their recent cartoons.

-----------------------

Live-action Mulan already in the works...

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 11:47 AM (NOIQH)

But of course. I really wasn't kidding.

The only question was, is the B and the B with Hermoine Granger a hit or not.

If it is, I see the template as being, not just giving the live action treatment, but also as star vehicles for these younger Hollowwood starlets who don't really have any acting chops to make it on their own, need a boost to propel their careers forward.

Posted by: BurtTC at April 11, 2017 11:56 AM (TOk1P)

175I'm surprised that CNN didn't dub over him to say that Trump is the worst and literally Hitler

Posted by: TheQuietMan at April 11, 2017 11:56 AM (493sH)

176
I think I may be more excited about getting Romancing the Stone from Netflix than for the new Thor movie.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:52 AM (ELUp)
---------

I liked that movie when it came out. I wonder how it holds up.

Posted by: bluebell at April 11, 2017 11:56 AM (sBOL1)

177
If Presdent Obama was still Presdent North Korea woulds not be a problem. Trump has skrewed up again and we must now pay for his stuppedity. Trump lied and should be remover from orifice and lets get Presdent Obama back to help all of us who needs help because Trump screwed everything up like Bush...............

179
The one movie that I can point to and say,"I really, really hate CGI." was Matrix Reloaded.***They did a great build up in the original Matrix...and then showed they had no idea what to do with the series after that in the sequels.

As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone has forgotten. And everyone has already forgotten that Maleficent movie with the incest chick in it. And if it hadn't been mentioned in this thread, I would have completely forgotten about the live action Jungle Book, too.

186
old OT- overbooking because passengers make reservations they don't use? My card gets charged when I make the reservation- not when I show up at the boarding gate. So overbooking is theft. IMHO
Posted by: free tibet
--------

It's in the fine print, the "Overbooking is not theft" clause.

Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 11, 2017 11:57 AM (NBHj5)

187Star Wars started out as an event (especially when Empire came out),

Time period plays a lot.

I saw Star Wars, first run, when it was released. It didn't start out as an "event" (it certainly wasn't hyped/overhyped on release) but when word of mouth spread it became a thing. It was also supposed to be a one-off, until Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox saw the success and decided to create a franchise out of it.

Plus consider the time period. No cable TV, no streaming media...just whatever was on the three networks or maybe some local/indy channels. So movies were more of a thing then.

Today, with home media being more readily available, along with alternative pursuits (computer games, etc), there's less of a draw to the movie theater. Not surprising studios are playing it safe with established brands...not so much for the domestic market, but to make money in the foreign markets.

189Oh, I do realize that, but those technical difficulties arise from time to time, you know?

Posted by: bluebell at April 11, 2017 11:54 AM (sBOL1)

83

Posted by: Hrothgar at April 11, 2017 11:58 AM (gwPgz)

190
Unless you've seen something I haven't, I'm pretty sure that Chris
Tolkien has said that he hated The Lord of the Rings movies too.***I'm not disagreeing - I'm just not sure what the complaint could have been by Chris Tolkein...

193
I remember saying that pretty much when I walked out of the theater.

"Yeah, the special effects are amazing, but in 20 years, when SyFy can do that level of effect, what's going to be left of Avatar? Dances with Wolves...in SPACE!!!!"
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:55 AM (ELUpj)

I have never actually seen Avatar. At the time I remember thinking: So Cameron decided to take some story ideas from Aliens (Space Vietnam) and make the whole movie about that. Right. Pass.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 11, 2017 11:58 AM (+c7tK)

194Unless you've seen something I haven't, I'm pretty sure that Chris Tolkien has said that he hated The Lord of the Rings movies too.

The Mummy, on its own, from the late 90s seemed to have greater effect culturally than the new The Mummy could possibly hope to achieve on its own.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 11:53 AM (ELUpj)

The Mummy jumped to mind as well.

Jurassic Park, Men in Black, Independence Day. I was too young to care at the time, but Pulp Fiction, Forrest Gump as well.

This post doesn't really have a point, I'm just spitballing out loud to try and see if anything solo in the last 10 years comes close.

I believe it's been speculated that a lot of talent that once went to movies now goes to tv series, and there may be some truth to that. New tv series seem to be having a much greater cultural impact than new non-series movies.

Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 11:59 AM (72PAC)

196
The live action Jungle Book was actually pretty good. Decent family entertainment. That's hard to find, nowadays.

I'm also a big LOTR fan, and the movies made me very happy. I even like the long, long ending of the Return of the King.

198
179 The one movie that I can point to and say,"I really, really hate CGI." was Matrix Reloaded.
***
They did a great build up in the original Matrix...and then showed they had no idea what to do with the series after that in the sequels.
Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:56 AM (eSx+E)

Actually The Matrix was a perfect example of a movie that did not need a sequel. It was fine as it was.

Posted by: Aetius451AD at April 11, 2017 11:59 AM (+c7tK)

199
176
I liked that movie when it came out. I wonder how it holds up.

Posted by: bluebell at April 11, 2017 11:56 AM (sBOL1)

=================

I had to space out the original with the sequel (Jewel of the Nile) because the first movie is "Very Long Wait", which means they'll send the movie right after it on the list first.

I don't know how I'd be able to navigate a so-so sequel to a romantic comedy staring Michael Douglas from the 80s without seeing the original first.

Its Mjolnir.... its can't actually be destroyed... ergo, he'll get it back and then....

THROW IT HARDER THAN HE"S EVER THROWN IT BEFORE!

Posted by: Don Q. at April 11, 2017 12:00 PM (NgKpN)

203
I was always into Conan the Barbarian more than the DC/Marvel books.

With DC/Marvel I always felt like I was coming into the story halfway through any of them because they had been around so long.

Posted by: Skunky Choom at April 11, 2017 12:00 PM (AeTx0)

204
Am I the only one who couldn't care less about all these comic book movies?
------------------------
What movies?

Posted by: RioBravo at April 11, 2017 12:00 PM (SsblQ)

205
>>I saw Star Wars, first run, when it was released. It didn't start out
as an "event" (it certainly wasn't hyped/overhyped on release) but when
word of mouth spread it became a thing. It was also supposed to be a
one-off, until Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox saw the success and
decided to create a franchise out of it.

Yup, it was just sort-of silly and fun, not A Very Big Deal. Especially with all of the Spielberg movies that were made around the same time, like Indiana Jones, Goonies, ET....

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 12:00 PM (NOIQH)

206
181 Has everyone already forgotten the movie that started the whole craze?

As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone has forgotten. And everyone has already forgotten that Maleficent movie with the incest chick in it. And if it hadn't been mentioned in this thread, I would have completely forgotten about the live action Jungle Book, too.
Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 11, 2017 11:57 AM (S2VsH)

=================

And yet each one made a bunch of cash.

Cultural consciousness. Probably has something to do with the balkanization of our culture overall. Plus the glut of entertainment choices.

211OTOH, adding content to The Hobbit just showed no one involved was as good of a writer as Tolkien....

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:50 AM (eSx+E)

That's why you need to see the "Tolkien edit" version of The Hobbit, wherein all the extraneous crap in Jackson's bloated 8+ hour monstrosity was excised, leaving one four-and-a-half hour movie that mostly sticks to the book. Mostly.

212
Our own Nathan R. Jessup has been listing "Today's Neutral Evenhanded Fair-Minded 100% Unbiased Headlines" of the MSM, not just CNN, for a while, now. Much appreciated!!! Most recently, yesterday, Monday Overnight Open Thread, comment #2.

Let's see if I can link that:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/k23oc3f

Posted by: m at April 11, 2017 12:01 PM (Gqgs8)

213
Aren't they remaking The Matrix? Hopefully this time they don't pick a directing duo with so many, ah, personal issues.

Posted by: Nigel West Dickens at April 11, 2017 12:01 PM (FqgrG)

214
I'm also a big LOTR fan, and the movies made me very happy. I even like the long, long ending of the Return of the King.
Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 11, 2017 11:59 AM (zsHGH)

Return was the only one I did not like. They screwed up the Battle of the Pelenor Fields (It's a surprise cavalry charge you idiots!) and it was FAR more drawn out than necessary.

221
Every time that Geraldo graces the screen, I recall that he had buttock flesh implanted in his forehead. Ironic when one considers that he wanted to look brainy.
Posted by: Mike Hammer, etc., etc. at April 11, 2017 12:01 PM (NBHj5)

---

So he truly is a butthead.

Posted by: SMFH at April 11, 2017 12:02 PM (sB1y1)

222
As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone has forgotten. And everyone has already forgotten that Maleficent movie with the incest chick in it. And if it hadn't been mentioned in this thread, I would have completely forgotten about the live action Jungle Book, too.

Posted by: Rusty Nail at April 11, 2017 11:57 AM (S2VsH)

There was a trend, that died out because the movies were not successful, to reimagine these stories in a grittier way (see also, Hansel and Gretel), but this is obviously a new trend.

Redo the hits of the last several decades, making the cartoons into live action, while trying to retain the original Dinsey "magic."

225Avatard and ceaseless PR over the movie got to me. Cameron going on and on about how he spent so much time creating the world and ecology. Then I find in a book store a book on the creatures of the planet and said "Nope, never ever going to see this garbage."

Reason being very simple. Cameron's 'thought out' world had an issue. Every bit of fauna on the planet was symmetrically hexapedal EXCEPT the intelligent race.

I saw Star Wars, first run, when it was released. It didn't start out as an "event" (it certainly wasn't hyped/overhyped on release) but when word of mouth spread it became a thing. It was also supposed to be a one-off, until Lucas and Twentieth Century Fox saw the success and decided to create a franchise out of it.

Plus consider the time period. No cable TV, no streaming media...just whatever was on the three networks or maybe some local/indy channels. So movies were more of a thing then.

Today, with home media being more readily available, along with alternative pursuits (computer games, etc), there's less of a draw to the movie theater. Not surprising studios are playing it safe with established brands...not so much for the domestic market, but to make money in the foreign markets.
Posted by: VA GOP Sucks at April 11, 2017 11:57 AM (PFy0L)

=================

All true. I'd bet that Disney could work on maintaining something like Star Wars as an event if they wanted.

One every 3 years. Make 2 billion dollars each time.

Instead, we'll get 1 a year while Disney makes between $500-$1 billion every year.

232
190 Unless you've seen something I haven't, I'm pretty sure that Chris
Tolkien has said that he hated The Lord of the Rings movies too.
***
I'm not disagreeing - I'm just not sure what the complaint could have been by Chris Tolkein...
Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 11:58 AM (eSx+E)

=================

I think it's a "feel" thing.

Tolkien sees the books as gentler and more relaxed. The movies are action-adventure movies that seem designed to entertain teenage boys on a certain level.

And still no 'StarShip Troopers' done correctly, with Powered Armor...

Still no 'Armor' by Steakley...

Hell... still no Honor Harrington... and talk about a book series tailor made for Hollywood... strong female character who kicks ass, and a cute animal sidekick!... Guess it glamorizes the military too much...

Hell.... still no Hammers's Slammers....

Posted by: Don Q. at April 11, 2017 12:04 PM (NgKpN)

237Rumor has it that Rosie O'Donnell has already
been signed for a live action remake of Fantasia. Negotiations are
underway with Barbra Streisand and Amy Schumer because they he two more
tutus to fill.

Posted by: Cicero (@cicero) at April 11, 2017 11:50 AM (JZdsf)

Delurking just to say that you are a very bad person for putting that image in people's heads. o.O

*motions to the helm* Re-engage lurking device, set course for either ___ur or any place with brain bleach, maximum warp.

249
>>As a matter of fact, yes. Everyone has forgotten. And everyone has
already forgotten that Maleficent movie with the incest chick in it.

DIdn;t forget either of those.

I did not like Malificent at all. Sure felt like it was written as a Women's Studies PhD project. Men suck and deceive you at every opportunity, and who needs a sweet, caring mom or fairy godmothers when you can be raised by an angry, butter, scorned thing?

251
211
That's why you need to see the "Tolkien edit" version of The Hobbit, wherein all the extraneous crap in Jackson's bloated 8+ hour monstrosity was excised, leaving one four-and-a-half hour movie that mostly sticks to the book. Mostly.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at April 11, 2017 12:01 PM (SzBdI)

===============

I watched one of the fan cuts (A Hobbit's Tale?), and it was kind of a mess. About 3 hours long, but the person who put it together seemed more concerned with cutting stuff out than making a narrative.

Granted, using just elements from the released movies is going to create some rough edges, but there were huge jumps in logic, location, and character all while the pacing of the thing flew around in random directions.

I have downloaded a two hour cut and want to see how that plays as well, and there are a few others that have been done. Maybe one of them will work.

257I know the 'Fairness Doctrine' doesn't have many fans on the conservative side, but the shit that CNN pulls every day didn't happen when broadcast licenses were on the line. They had to at least pretend to be fair.

Reagan was warned it was going to happen, and it started almost immediately in his administration after that threat was removed.

I'm not sure that would work. WaPo and NYT both failed as businesses, then were bought by liberal billionaires as essentially personal blogs. Do you think Bezos will shut down the WaPo if it doesn't make him a profit? No. Same with CNN. If it can't make any profit, somebody like Bill Gates will buy it and it'll be even more radical, with no consequences for driving away their audience.

Posted by: joe at April 11, 2017 12:09 PM (timOb)

266
>>I teach in a public high school, and the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why
is a big hit among the students. It is sad and disturbing.

Oh, that's about suicide, right?Yikes, that is disturbing!

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 12:09 PM (NOIQH)

267
Hell.... still no Hammers's Slammers....***I want to see them keep making the Narnia series. Very quickly they will get to the book that hollywood would not let them make....

I did not like Malificent at all. Sure felt like it was written as a Women's Studies PhD project. Men suck and deceive you at every opportunity, and who needs a sweet, caring mom or fairy godmothers when you can be raised by an angry, butter, scorned thing?
Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 12:06 PM (NOIQH)

269
CNN, their supporters and the rest of the liberal mob see in this presidency, the beginning of their end. If this continues, especially beyond one-term, their subterfuge will start to be rolled back and their fallacies, fully exposed.

They can't have that.

For years, going back to people like FDR and Johnson they have rather stealthily taken over a party for their purposes. They've been able to obfuscate that purpose, until Obama. That was their great "coming out" party where they prematurely claimed victory over a traditional and constitutional America.

It was too early, because we are not dead yet.

People are going to resist their grotesque, anti constitutional efforts and crush them where they stand. I'm sick of them and so are most people I know. They are the antithesis of everything our country stands for.

Liberald are desperate and therefore irrational. We just need to stay strong and persevere. Because they're not dead yet either and will fight back. But I remain committed to destroying their subterfuge- and I'm not the only one. People like those at CNN will be the hand of their own destruction.

Posted by: Marcus T at April 11, 2017 12:09 PM (8NGAj)

270
I love how the writer keeps comparing FDR with Trump when,as Glenn Reynolds points out,this sounds more like Obama.

https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/262172/

Posted by: steevy at April 11, 2017 12:09 PM (r/0kC)

271
134 Yeah it is a major problem in the industry.I think?I feel like growing up in the 90s there were a lot more solo movies that had huge impacts. They later got sequels but the impact was made.I don't think that really happens anymore, but admittedly my view on recent Hollywood outside of Marvel and other Disney is nearly nonexistent.Could just be the quality and caring factor in Hollywood has gone out the window as well.Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 11:49 AM (72PAC)===============

Case Study: Independence Day

As a solo movie it was a fun, campy, popcorn infused action/end of the world disaster movie. It deserved all the accolades and nostalgia it got.

Then, 20 years later, they do a sequel and forget everything that made the original work. Then add in moody, whiny, millennials trying to save the world to boot and then, obviously, try to make it it's own expanded universe. Sad news -- a part 3 is slated to be made...

Posted by: Astronaut Achmed at April 11, 2017 12:10 PM (laQYo)

272
Never forget that CNN covered up for Saddam--his tortures, his murders, his brutality, his human rights violations, all of it--just to have access in Iraq.

274
271
Then, 20 years later, they do a sequel and forget everything that made the original work. Then add in moody, whiny, millennials trying to save the world to boot and then, obviously, try to make it it's own expanded universe. Sad news -- a part 3 is slated to be made...
Posted by: Astronaut Achmed at April 11, 2017 12:10 PM (laQYo)

276
>>>Am I the only one who couldn't care less about all these comic book movies?
<<<

It's like Marvel does Shakespeare in the Park with CGI.

Posted by: Fritz at April 11, 2017 12:11 PM (2Mnv1)

277
Pretty sure they aren't makiganymore Narnia movies,despite the first ones being successes.

Posted by: steevy at April 11, 2017 12:11 PM (r/0kC)

278
The Lord of the Rings movies were incomprehensible to anybody that did not read the books. They were meant as visual effects for Tolkien fans.

And I always thought those Nazgul or ringwraith were the biggest supernatural evil failures in all history. They got their butts kicked in every single encounter with non-supernatural beings.Who created those losers?

Posted by: Ripley at April 11, 2017 12:11 PM (1BQGO)

279Starship Troopers with actual suits? 1988 and anime is about all you get right now.

It's not just CNN. And after you follow it in real time, it becomes obvious that it's co-ordinated. The Favreau/Rhodes Echo Chamber lives.

Which is why I've fingered Ben Rhodes as the central node in leaks to MSM including those sourced through his former direct boss Susan Rice.

Posted by: Ignoramus at April 11, 2017 12:11 PM (SIY7D)

281
I know the 'Fairness Doctrine' doesn't have many fans on the
conservative side, but the shit that CNN pulls every day didn't happen
when broadcast licenses were on the line.***Because no one on the conservative side believes a Republican, let alone a Democrat, executive would do anything to stop CNN and friends from doing what they do now?

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 12:11 PM (eSx+E)

282
That's why you need to see the "Tolkien edit" version of The Hobbit, wherein all the extraneous crap in Jackson's bloated 8+ hour monstrosity was excised, leaving one four-and-a-half hour movie that mostly sticks to the book. Mostly.
Posted by: OregonMuse, deplorable since 2004 at April 11, 2017 12:01 PM (SzBdI)

285
In the fourth Avatar sequel, a young blue alien man will be violently gunned down in the street after stealing a worthless pack of cigars. This will give birth to the rise of a new social media movement.

#BlueAlienLivesMatter

Posted by: James Cameron at April 11, 2017 12:12 PM (FqgrG)

286
They were going to make a third Fantasia in the mid-2000s, I think.

You can actually find a couple of the proposed segments on Youtube as independent shorts.

I would have liked a third Fantasia, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 12:12 PM (ELUpj)

289
Oh, and speaking of no movies made for the character how about Indian Chief?

Who can forget the classic episode where a monster pops out of the Moon, because it is really an egg, and only Indian Chief can defeat it by getting really, really big?

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 12:13 PM (eSx+E)

290I have downloaded a two hour cut and want to see how that plays as well, and there are a few others that have been done. Maybe one of them will work.

Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 12:07 PM (ELUpj)

This is the version I saw:

https://tolkieneditor.wordpress.com/

This is what Mrs. Muse and I watched on election night. We thought it mostly worked. And then, at about 11pm Pacific time, with great trepidation, we tuned into election news for the first time and we were all WHAT? DONALD TRUMP IS *WINNING*?

I think I recall a Fantasia 2000, but that wasn't a remake?
Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 12:13 PM (72PAC)

===============

Nope. That was all new stuff.

Except The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which ended it just like it did the original.

Disney's original vision for Fantasia was a movie that was constantly in theaters, but would have new segments added and old ones taken out individually over time. Keeping in The Sorcerer's Apprentice kind of keeps that spirit a bit.

303
Maleficent was fine as a villian, Jolie looked really hot. But for some reason (looking at you, Wicked), they decided to make her the wronged and scorned woman oppressed by all the mean male humans. F* that.

I think Pornhub probably has made Cherry Poptart superfluous, for better or worse.

Posted by: Mark Andrew Edwards at April 11, 2017 12:15 PM (zsHGH)

304
The Lord of the Rings movies were incomprehensible to anybody that did not read the books. They were meant as visual effects for Tolkien fans.

I'm a "Tolkein fan", and it pains me to watch them. There were moments, such as the actor who portrayed Theoden and Eowyn. These were awesome, and they were able to deliver text from the books.

But most of it was formulaic, cheap jokes and stunts. Epic adventure or quest? No.

Posted by: Hooray for Hollywood at April 11, 2017 12:15 PM (326rv)

305
Indian Chief was created just for the Superfriends to add diversity.

Posted by: steevy at April 11, 2017 12:15 PM (r/0kC)

306The third one really didn't make enough to cover it's budget and marketing costs.Walden has been trying to get The Silver Chair made ever since, but no one wants to put up the money since Dawn Treader didn't do all that well.Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 12:13 PM (ELUpj)

This how it went.

The first Narnia movie was pretty good.The second one was kind of mediocre.The third sucked donkey balls. I mean, it *really* sucked donkey balls.

311
Most of my offline circle (myself included) came to the conclusion the
ecosystem was artificial. Pandora was, in effect, a retirement home for
a warrior race.***You know what would be a great sequel? Pandora is actually a giant weapon. The owners created the Navi to protect it when they aren't using it as a Death Star to blow shit up.

Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 12:16 PM (eSx+E)

312
I would have liked a third Fantasia, though.
Posted by: TheJamesMadison at April 11, 2017 12:12 PM (ELUpj)

There was a second?

I think I recall a Fantasia 2000, but that wasn't a remake?

Posted by: What's a Seawolf? at April 11, 2017 12:13 PM (72PAC)

No, not a remake. I remember almost nothing from it. The thing gets real boring real fast, even though the imagery is... imaginative.

I predict he's a goner in ID3. Posted by: fixerupper at April 11, 2017 12:15 PM (8XRCm) =====His "Donuts" sitcom on CBS is way ahead of ID3 in terms of killing him. Terrible show, full of SJW tropes...

322
Yes, think about how unappealing is the idea of being a refugee. Which is why I'm suspicious of those many young fighting-age men who are now in Europe. Are they really fleeing for safety, when safety is apparently unimportant to the women and children left behind?

I understand that many libs really seem to believe that Trump is the living breathing Hitler. And yet, despite threats and promises, they do not leave their homeland.

Why is the soft bigotry of lowered expectations seemingly intrinsic in their mindset? "Flight for thee but not for me?"

325
The media loves the Democrats, but the Democrats don't respect the media. Obama treated them with utter disdain, like the groupies they were. And remember Bill Clinton exploding at someone (Chris Wallace?) because he asked a question Clinton never got asked? Nancy Pelosi too went off on someone --I forget who and why--but she was seething.
But the media act like battered housewives around Democrats--subservient, scared and walking on eggshells...

Posted by: JoeF. at April 11, 2017 12:19 PM (7uYFy)

326
I do not know why people bitch and moan about The Hobbit and LoTR movies.

I've read the books. I can see why Jackson did what he did. WTF else could they have realistically done better?

It's like they expected Jackson to follow the books paragraph by paragraph and that's not possible BECAUSE - epic MOVIES based off of BOOKS. 2 mediums that are the opposite of each other. Both mediums have their strengths and their limitations.

Fantasy Dorks and their pet peeves. Can't have one without the other.

Posted by: Skunky Choom at April 11, 2017 12:20 PM (AeTx0)

327
Indian Chief was created just for the Superfriends to add diversity.

The reason they sat on a sequel so long was apparently... George W Bush. Fox was pushing Devlin/Emmerich for a sequel in the early 2000s, but they refused, saying "we can't have a movie with a heroic President while he's in office".

They deserve to lose as much money as humanly possible.

Posted by: The NSA at April 11, 2017 12:21 PM (S2VsH)

331
326 I do not know why people bitch and moan about The Hobbit and LoTR movies.

I've read the books. I can see why Jackson did what he did. WTF else could they have realistically done better?

It's like they expected Jackson to follow the books paragraph by paragraph and that's not possible BECAUSE - epic MOVIES based off of BOOKS. 2 mediums that are the opposite of each other. Both mediums have their strengths and their limitations.

Fantasy Dorks and their pet peeves. Can't have one without the other.
Posted by: Skunky Choom at April 11, 2017 12:20 PM (AeTx0)

================

I think the Hobbit movies are pretty good.

But they're bloated, directionless, and overlong.

It didn't help that a few months before the release of the first one, Jackson received instructions from the studio to make the 2 movies into 3.

They hadn't planned on an extra 2-3 hours of content being necessary, so they bloated it.

332
You know what would be a great sequel? Pandora is actually a giant weapon. The owners created the Navi to protect it when they aren't using it as a Death Star to blow shit up.
Posted by: 18-1 at April 11, 2017 12:16 PM (eSx+E)

and.... it could run into the Star War's Death Star... so a Battle of Death Stars!

As a solo movie it was a fun, campy, popcorn infused action/end of the world disaster movie. It deserved all the accolades and nostalgia it got.

Then, 20 years later, they do a sequel and forget everything that made the original work. Then add in moody, whiny, millennials trying to save the world to boot and then, obviously, try to make it it's own expanded universe. Sad news -- a part 3 is slated to be made...
Posted by: Astronaut Achmed

As for the first, the best scenes were lifted from George Pal's version of War of the Worlds. Think about the scene where a city is nuked (Houston in this case).

George Pals' version was on a low budget, even for then, and the special effects available pale to what exists now. But tat had drama. The sense that humanity was losing.

Oh, I love the Harold and the Purple Crayon animated series that HBO did.

Posted by: Lizzy at April 11, 2017 12:28 PM (NOIQH)

344
CNN's descent into self-parody makes a lot more sense when you realize that Jeff Zucker, who currently is running CNN and is rumored to be micromanaging coverage from the sidelines, is the guy who made MSNBC into what it is today. CNN was never great, but it used to be better than what it is today.

I had high hopes when they hired Jake Tapper away from ABC. I give him something of a pass because he showed himself willing to question the Obama administration more than anybody else outside of Fox or talk radio did. I think he's at least got a history of challenging those in power on both sides, and unlike most of his peers he seems to have at least some respect for middle America. But it's clear even he's being affected by Zucker's crusade.

Also, that Thor trailer is straight out of my Saturday morning childhood in the 80s. I didn't give a crap about this movie but after seeing the trailer I'm kind of stoked.

348
CNN wasn't always negative about Trump. While he was a candidate for the Republican nomination, he got some pretty good press vis-à-vis the other Republicans. It wasn't until he became the Republican nominee that they turned on him like a press corps scorned. Pretty much the Romney treatment. And McCain treatment.

It was almost like someone was directing the selection, but that's just crazy talk.

Posted by: Advo at April 11, 2017 12:40 PM (ekVHT)

349
>>>325 The media loves the Democrats, but the Democrats don't respect the media. Obama treated them with utter disdain, like the groupies they were. And remember Bill Clinton exploding at someone (Chris Wallace?) because he asked a question Clinton never got asked?
Posted by: JoeF. at April 11, 2017 12:19 PM (7uYFy)

Maybe Charlie Rose? It was really something. It was about Monica.

Posted by: m at April 11, 2017 12:50 PM (Gqgs8)

350
>>>Maybe Charlie Rose? It was really something. It was about Monica.
Posted by: m at April 11, 2017 12:50 PM (Gqgs

Peter Jennings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wJMO7cmhHo

Posted by: m at April 11, 2017 12:53 PM (Gqgs8)

351
Also, for you semi-comicgeeks, it looks like they're using the plot of Planet Hulk, only with Thor in the Hulk role and Hulk in the...Silver Surfer role. I know, very inside baseball, but if you get the time and have the inclination, the Planet Hulk graphic novel is actually pretty good. And I say that as a non-Hulk fan.

Doc on United plane was convicted of felony. Traded prescription drugs for gay sex. Also psych report on him is not good.

lolololol
Posted by: IrishEi at April 11, 2017 12:24 PM (HiDrR)

!!!

Posted by: m at April 11, 2017 12:58 PM (Gqgs8)

353
If you disagree with us you are STUPID, dumb, and a reprobate. The liberal media and Democrats (sorry for the duplication) are calling me their enemy. I might just start acting like it. getting closer each day

I saw it more as Thor panicking a little bit that Cap might be able to lift it.

Posted by: WOPR - Nationalist at April 11, 2017 01:23 PM (J70i0)

356
Easier to think of the Trad media not as the tools of the Democratic party but the other way around.
CNN isn't getting marching orders from the Democrats, but the other way around.
With this in mind, CNN will always debase themselves as they are losing power and have been for some time. Viewership is down, soon they will have to renegoitiate cable contracts and really start to lose money. As the oler population that is used to the TV news and newspapers vs the interwebs, they will continue to lose their power and they will continue to get desperate. They can't stop the hemorrhaging and they are ideologically opposed to giving up their control. So they keep doing what they always have done, we just seeing behind the curtain these days with various other news sources, and we as a people are just re-learning how to think for ourselves again and use the Constitutionally defined levers of power to reign them back in. Once the news dissemination system stops having any real influence, we can work on education system, the other leftist/globalist indoctrination system, a much bigger and longer recovery task. Taking back control of the government is crucial and draining the swamps at all levels.

I wholeheartedly disagree. Jackson did the best possible adaptation of that film with available or custom ordered tech, and while I have some adaptation quibbles, it wasn't bad.

I disagree with more of the Hobbit trilogy, but it wouldn't have all fit in one movie, and with use of material from Return of the King's appendices, you fill it out to three solid movies in length. Just some of the invention and fan-fic elements annoy me...

Posted by: Colonel Kurtz at April 11, 2017 03:42 PM (vZiiT)

360
I realized this back in September when I went to CNN's main page, which
I rarely do, and saw 6 features about Trump or his candidacy, and every
one of them was negative, and highly critical. Every. Single. One.
That's when I knew that there was something weird going on.

Just change the name to Washington Post and the very same is true. I once counted 15 headlines and articles damning Trump on the online front page.